Big value Spanish designed 29ER
An excellent price point for a completely European designed and engineered 29er. MSC Bikes is a small mountain bike manufacturer based in Barcelona, some of the old skoolers will know MSC from their UCI World Cup dominating days back in the mid-2000s. While MSC still runs their Factory Racing team based in Spain racing the local circuit, they have devoted their time and resources in creating an excellent range of mountain bikes.
The 29ER Alumnium shows excellent value for money, with a frame that has had lots of nice details that only the Euro's now how to do. A custom drawn tubeset with lots of manipulation and from a far could almost pass off as an elegant carbon bike. Lots of features and design elements were taken from their Carbon 29ER, like the rear sandwich type dropouts that provide a direct interface between the derailleur and frame also allowing quick swapping of rear axle standard. The rear axle accepts either 9mm open or a 12x135mm MAXLE. Seat stays are elegantly thinned in the mid section to provide compliance and the stout chainstays and oversized downtube provide direct power transmission.
With the Europeans taking on to the 29er craze a little bit later than the rest of the world, MSC has made sure that the geometry is well suited to those smaller riders that just have to own a 29er. A very small head tube( 93mm ) on the small size keeps the front end low and the front triangle compact. If you were previously concerned with how small 29ers look, you can now rest assured the MSC 29ER is in perfect proportion even in the smallest size. A quick and nimble handling 29ER that maintains the speed but does not feel "boaty" cutting through flowy ribbons of single track. Minimal power loss through a very torsional resistance frame with a surprisingly lively feel makes this bike ideal for trail riders or the hardcare marathon/xc racer.